IT was a case of East meets West for jet-setting students Sarah Wood and Sachiko Enokihara, who are trading places for the next six months.

Sarah, of Bolton Road, Bury, sets off today for the "land of the rising sun", to learn about Japanese language, music and culture.

The 18-year-old will stay with Sachiko's family near Osaka and study at the city's Poole-Gakuin University.

Sachiko has already arrived to stay with Sarah's family, giving the pair a chance to compare notes during the crossover.

While looking forward to her trip, Sarah admits she has one or two worries.

She said: "I'm quite nervous about the food at the moment because I don't really like fish which is the main thing they eat, and I don't know how to use chopsticks."

Sachiko (19) will be studying English at Canon Slade High School in Bolton, where Sarah has just completed her A-Levels.

Sarah, who intends to study music at Durham University next year, said: "Sachiko is very fluent in English and was a bit quiet at first but that's only really to be expected.

"I can only say a few courtesy phrases in Japanese at the moment but I'm hoping to get better."